An older woman and a much younger man, spotted in finery fresh from the spring collections, spend the day together along the Palm Beach shore. But it's not what you think.

An older woman and a much younger man, spotted in finery fresh from the spring collections, spend the day together along the Palm Beach shore. But it's not what you think.

More

view gallery

01of08

01Of08

01Of08

Altar of Style

Altar of Style

They have Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner together most years, but hat designer and model Nick Fouquet isn't exactly sure how he's related to Fern Tailer, known to all as Big Fern. She explains they're first cousins once removed. "At 18, I met Kim Kendall, who married my uncle George Baker, and they had Lavinia, who is Nicky's mother," she says. "That's how he cameinto my life." Though the two live on different coasts (Fouquet in Venice, California; Tailer in West Palm Beach) and are separated in age by 50 years (Tailer will be 80 on Bastille Day), Fouquet can't help being enamored. How could he not? The flame-haired daughter of T. Suffern Tailer, of Baltimore and Newport, and Florence Baker, of Long Island, has lived quite a life. After coming out to society in a white duchess satin bustled Madame Grès gown, in Locust Valley in 1951 (Cary Grant was in attendance, and Ethel Merman and the Lester Lanin Orchestra performed), Tailer modeled for Eileen Ford.

She was a Pond's and a Buick girl, and she was on the cover of Vogue in '53 and in this magazine, sporting vintage couture, in '79. She also studied acting with Stella Adler and had a role in the movie Hair. And in 1970 she competed in the Westminster Kennel Club show and won a Best Opposite Sex prize with her Rhodesian ridgeback Binti.

"She's done so many things and lived such a wild life," says Fouquet, who, for his part, grew up in Royan, France, and attended Rollins College before traveling to Nepal, Morocco, and Chile to get inspiration for his line, Westbrook Maker. "It's crazy she's almost 80. She might as well be 31, she's got such a young soul." Tailer was never particularly close to her parents ("I just saw them at cocktail hour," she says), and her grandmother infamously bought out her contract to be a Broad- way Follies showgirl because she thought it was inappropriate. But family is extremely important to her now. So, after three marriages, four children, and 13 grandchildren, Tailer spends her time on sculpture and sharing books and letters with Fouquet. She reads his latest missive through tears: "What an awesomely cool and inspiring woman you are. I always enjoy our conversations. Keep rocking."

Altar of Style

They have Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner together most years, but hat designer and model Nick Fouquet isn't exactly sure how he's related to Fern Tailer, known to all as Big Fern. She explains they're first cousins once removed. "At 18, I met Kim Kendall, who married my uncle George Baker, and they had Lavinia, who is Nicky's mother," she says. "That's how he cameinto my life." Though the two live on different coasts (Fouquet in Venice, California; Tailer in West Palm Beach) and are separated in age by 50 years (Tailer will be 80 on Bastille Day), Fouquet can't help being enamored. How could he not? The flame-haired daughter of T. Suffern Tailer, of Baltimore and Newport, and Florence Baker, of Long Island, has lived quite a life. After coming out to society in a white duchess satin bustled Madame Grès gown, in Locust Valley in 1951 (Cary Grant was in attendance, and Ethel Merman and the Lester Lanin Orchestra performed), Tailer modeled for Eileen Ford.

She was a Pond's and a Buick girl, and she was on the cover of Vogue in '53 and in this magazine, sporting vintage couture, in '79. She also studied acting with Stella Adler and had a role in the movie Hair. And in 1970 she competed in the Westminster Kennel Club show and won a Best Opposite Sex prize with her Rhodesian ridgeback Binti.

"She's done so many things and lived such a wild life," says Fouquet, who, for his part, grew up in Royan, France, and attended Rollins College before traveling to Nepal, Morocco, and Chile to get inspiration for his line, Westbrook Maker. "It's crazy she's almost 80. She might as well be 31, she's got such a young soul." Tailer was never particularly close to her parents ("I just saw them at cocktail hour," she says), and her grandmother infamously bought out her contract to be a Broad- way Follies showgirl because she thought it was inappropriate. But family is extremely important to her now. So, after three marriages, four children, and 13 grandchildren, Tailer spends her time on sculpture and sharing books and letters with Fouquet. She reads his latest missive through tears: "What an awesomely cool and inspiring woman you are. I always enjoy our conversations. Keep rocking."